Education

1:04pm

Education

The new common core state standards implemented in schools across Kentucky and 42 other states at the beginning of the school year have changed the academic landscape for all students. The new standards were designed to provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn in a way that is relevant to the real world. The new standards have also changed the expectations and rigor for those students who have dropped out of school and are looking to get a General Education Diploma (GED) at one of the 120 adult education centers across the state.

11:15am

Education

The UCLA professor and contracted expert on student assignment said it’s possible for Jefferson County Public Schools to create diverse schools with less transportation by next fall. “Well I think the longest ride times would be less than half the longest ride times now. That’s my guess,” Dr. Gary Orfield told the JCPS school board.

3:42pm

Education

Bowling Green students who were riding a bus involved in an accident are transferred today to another bus with the help of Bowling Green firefighters at Russellville Road and Veterans Memorial Lane. Several students were transported to an area hospital.

Joe ImelThe Daily News

An adult and 10 children were injured Monday morning when a Bowling Green Independent Schools bus collided with a car at Russellville Road and Campbell Lane. City schools Bus 4, loaded with about 50 children and bound for Bowling Green Junior High School, was traveling west on Russellville Road when it attempted to make a left turn onto Campbell Lane and collided with a car driven by Paula Borden, 42, of Bowling Green, Bowling Green Police Department spokesman Officer Ronnie Ward said. Borden and seven children were taken by ambulance to The Medical Center. The parents of three other children also took their children to the emergency room for treatment, officials said. No one was seriously injured, Bowling Green schools spokeswoman Leslie Peek said.

10:03am

Education

South Warren Middle School seventh-graders watch a documentary titled "9/11" on Thursday in a history class at the school. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Alex SlitzBowling Green Daily News

Lauren Goff was in middle school on Sept. 11, 2001. Now, 10 years later, she has to teach today’s middle schoolers about that day, a day of which they have no memory. Goff, a history teacher at South Warren Middle School, said she struggled with how to explain the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to her seventh-graders, who were just 2 years old when they happened. “To them, it seems just as ancient as ancient Rome,” Goff said.

10:45am

Education

Things have certainly changed. The world is definitely a different place. But do we continue to learn, 10 years after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001? Students and teachers, no doubt, took time to discuss the matter in school this week. Maybe it was a small part of a lesson, maybe it was a whole class, but the events of that day do not appear to have worked their way into the fabric of U.S. and world history classes like D-day or the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

10:33am

Education

Work has already begun to create a level building site for the new Robertson County School building on the corner of U.S. 62 and Kentucky 616 near Mount Olivet.

Wendy MitchellLedger Independent

Mother Nature was no match Wednesday night for the determination of those who have spent more than a decade pressing for a new school for Robertson County students. With rain pouring down, and the ground-breaking ceremony moved indoors, officials recounted what brought the group together and will result in an entire new educational complex on the corner of U.S. 62 and Kentucky 616 in the next 18 months. Known as Deming School for decades, the new complex will be known as Robertson County School, and house all grade levels, officials said.

10:25am

Education

T.K. Stone Middle School teacher Kerrie Bal works with Graham Meek, left, Ramsey Deaton and Will Dykeman on their 9/11 project on Thursday. They're learning about the different perspectives of groups affected by the attacks.

Kelly CantrallNews Enterprise

As the world stopped 10 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001, frozen in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, educators in Hardin County juggled watching with guiding classrooms of children through an event some were too young to understand. Wynna Mabe, a teacher at Lincoln Trail Elementary School, said she felt many of her students saw the crumbling towers as a scene from a movie, instead of realizing it involved real people. It was hard for elementary students to comprehend the enormity of the attacks, she said.

3:14pm

Education

Media panelists discuss history of education during conference at Eastern Kentucky University.

Charles ComptonWEKU News

When the history of education in the Commonwealth was recounted today during a conference at Eastern Kentucky University, former-Governor Paul Patton was repeatedly cited. The Patton Administration was credited by historians with reforming the state’s system of education. Referring to statistics released yesterday, Patton told attendees the pace of progress in Kentucky is faster than most other states.

10:41am

Education

Shannon Maddox first heard the news through a phone call from a colleague. A plane had struck the World Trade Center in New York City. She immediately turned the television on in her Crittenden Mt. Zion Elementary classroom. It wasn’t long after that teachers were told to keep their students in their classrooms and no one was allowed to go outside.

9:42am

Education

Many of the freshmen who stepped on the UK campus this fall were in elementary school at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For many Americans, it seems hard to forget the events of 9/11; the place they were, the people they were with, and even what they were doing that day. But what about young people who were mere children when it happened? Two University of Kentucky freshmen took the opportunity to share their thoughts about September 11th.

4:19pm

Education

Council on Postsecondary Education President Bob King at the podium along with E-K-U President Doug Whitlock looking on during capital announcement

Stu JohnsonWeku

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A just released study on the progress Kentucky’s made in reforming higher education prompted a celebration today in Frankfort. But, the party was tempered by a realization of what lies ahead. The study, which was done by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, measured the effectiveness of reforms enacted by the General Assembly in 1997.

1:10pm

Education

Members of Western Kentucky University's class of 2015 attach their class pins Tuesday during the WKU Freshman Assembly at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Alex SlitzBowling Green Daily News

The message to incoming students was clear Tuesday night at Western Kentucky University’s Freshman Assembly: finish your degree. That theme was brought home by current students, alumni and administrators through the course of the assembly in E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU Provost Gordon Emslie asked students to pledge their commitment to finishing their degree.

7:55am

Education

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has appointed Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Commissioner Terry Holliday to the National Assessment Governing Board. “The governing board my make decisions about which types of test NAEP will provide. NAEP tests things like reading and math and science and writing,” said Lisa Gross, Kentucky Department of Education spokeswoman Holliday will serve in the category of chief state school officer, which “sets policy for the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), known as the National Report Card.” NAEP is the country’s only nationally representative assessment of student achievement in various subjects. It’s an independent organization in association with the U.S. Department of Education.

4:17pm

Education

The University of Kentucky is celebrating the inaugural semester of its new "Core" studies program, which all undergraduate students must complete as part of their degree programs. A performance by UK opera students marked the beginning of the ceremony, which celebrated the start of UK Core, which will replace the aging University Studies Program, adopted in the mid-80s.

12:34pm

Education

Franklin County High School students have earned nearly $10,000 in rewards for passing Advanced Placement courses since the launch of a grant aimed at boosting enrollment and performance. Students and their parents collected checks in a Friday afternoon assembly: $100 for each passing score they received on an AP exam in English, math or science last year. State education officials announced the three-year, $423,000 AdvanceKentucky grant for Franklin County and Western Hills High School in April 2010

10:07am

Education

NEWPORT - The effort to transform Newport High School received a boost this week with a $770,117 award from the federal School Improvement Grant. Newport became eligible for it after being named by the state this year as a "Persistently Low-Achieving" school. The money will be used in numerous ways, including for the hiring of two education recovery specialists (for math and language arts) and an education recovery leader; professional development for teachers; bus service for taking students on college tours; books and study guides; and computer software.

10:06am

Education

A school advocate urged state regulators to find a way to lessen the pain on public schools as they consider whether to approve Kentucky Utilities Co.’s request to raise its electric rates.Engineer Darrel Pfingston of Henderson, an energy manager for the Kentucky School Boards Association, proposed that the Kentucky Public Service Commission tie schools’ electric rates to the rate of inflation, which he said is about half the rate that energy has been escalating in recent decades.

4:47pm

Education

Kids attending newly built Wellington Elementary will soon be enjoying a new, state-of-the-art playground, courtesy of the Pepsi Refresh Project, which accepts grant ideas online and then awards up to 50-thousand dollars to those receiving the most votes.

10:50am

Education

Thursday will be the first official day on the job for new Fayette County School Superintendent Tom Shelton. The former Daviess County school administrator has spent the last few months settling into the Lexington community. The goal now is to get acquainted with teachers and students.

3:48pm

Education

Around three thousand Fayette County Public School fifth graders this week take a field trip to the Keeneland Race Course. Special events coordinator Kara Heissenbuttel says they worked with the school district to target a good age group.

1:16pm

Education

Frankfort Independent students who pride themselves on their unique style may have to abide by a strict dress code or wear uniforms next fall as part of an effort to curb dropouts. Alan Spade, assistant principal at Frankfort High School, discussed the idea with more than 30 students, parents and teachers Monday night. Studies have shown a correlation between uniform dress codes and higher attendance and graduation rates, he said, though there’s no proof that attire alone did the trick. But as much as they love their small, tight-knit school, the half dozen girls that gathered after the meeting agreed that they would rather transfer to Franklin County Schools than wear uniforms.

3:43pm

Education

After a half century of effort, Eastern Kentucky University has acquired the Elmwood Estate. The mansion and 20 acres of property, which sits directly across from EKU on Lancaster Avenue, has been a private residence. Elmwood, which was built in 1887, is believed to be Kentucky’s only Chateauesque-style house outside Louisville.

1:26pm

Education

A growth spurt in Warren County Public Schools requires more than new buildings and additional teachers. It also creates a bus driver shortage, and the district is trying to fix that problem. Transportation officials need to hire around 15 new bus drivers - a majority of those will be substitute drivers to take over when regular drivers cannot work, said John Odom, district transportation director.

4:17pm

Education

The Kentucky Court of Appeals heard oral arguments today over an interpretation of a state statute, which could affect the JCPS student assignment plan. The debate was between the words enroll versus attend. Since 2000, a state statute (KRS 159.070) has allowed districts to chose where students go to school by removing the word “attend” in legislative language, said Bryon Leet, a JCPS board attorney. Leet said JCPS can enroll a student at one school and have them attend another, like in the case of the current student assignment plan. But that’s not the state law’s intent, said Bruce Miller, an appellant attorney.

12:55pm

Education

Becky Keith shows Gov. Steve Beshear how she used the iPad in her Spanish class last year during the launch for Kentucky on iTunes U at Woodford County High School Wednesday morning.

Hannah ReelFrankfort State Journal

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Students, parents, teachers and community members can now access free Kentucky-specific educational materials through iTunes. During Wednesday’s launch at Woodford County High School, state Education Commissioner Terry Holliday called the resource “mass customization of learning,” comparing it to his own Yahoo News page and Twitter feed. “It’s no longer a cookie-cutter education,” he said. “Students can customize their learning lists like they do their music playlists.” The iTunes U project is a partnership among the Kentucky Department of Education, the University of Kentucky and KET.

10:33am

Education

Irina Voro, the new faculty trustee on the UK board, campaigned on transparency. She has criticized the raise given former UK president Lee T. Todd Jr. before his retirement and the "secret search" for UK's new president.

Brooke DidonatoLexington Herald-Leader

Irina Voro, the University of Kentucky's new faculty trustee, makes at least $3.3 million less than basketball coach John Calipari, teaches in a cramped studio that houses two pianos, and won not one but two elections to get her seat on the board. She criticizes UK's spending — "Is this the University of Kentucky or Wall Street?" — and said in her platform statement that UK's administration treats the faculty like "bumpkins."

1:46pm

Education

A gas leak at a construction site briefly shut down a Danville street Monday morning, forcing the evacuation of a nearby Centre College building and putting glass-blowing equipment in jeopardy. The street was shut down for about an hour, and the few people in the arts building, including Professor Stephen Rolfe Powell and one of his assistants, were evacuated.

9:09am

Education

More than 1,500 University of Kentucky students got out of their dorms and into the Lexington community Monday as part of the annual UK FUSION service event. Junior Son Doan first heard about UK For Unity and Service in Our Neighborhoods, or FUSION, a couple of years ago as a freshman. The finance major spent his Monday afternoon painting a pavilion at the Living Arts and Science Center.

5:58pm

Education

Monday found fairly a consistent flow of students into Richmond’s book stores. Classes resume this week at a number of state universities across the Commonwealth. The job market is on the minds of many of the college students. If all goes as she plans, Lancaster Junior Sarah Elliot will graduate next year from Eastern Kentucky University with a nursing degree. Then, Elliot hopes to work for a Lexington hospital. Despite the slow economy, the health industry is relatively health. Still, Elliot worries job seekers may soon flood the healthcare professions.

5:50pm

Education

Female police officers from close to 60 nations are in Lexington for training. Among them are officers with the United Nations police division. U-N gender officer Lea Biason says some of the training is for international peacekeepers. “These are the minimum requirement skills needed for police officers to be deployed in international peace keeping operations,” said Biason.